Starbucks Closing Stores in Australia Too

Starbucks will close more than two-thirds of its 84 stores in Australia by the end of the week under a cost-cutting plan announced Tuesday that will put almost 700 people out of work.

The surprise announcement came a few weeks after the global coffee shop franchise that has become ubiquitous around the world announced it was closing 600 company-owned stores in the United States to try to bolster its business.

The closure of the 61 “underperforming” stores in Australia was the result of conditions specific to Australia that were not reflected elsewhere in the world, the chief executive Howard Schultz said in a statement